Ikar Los Angeles

This is the first session from Rabbi David Kasher's five-part series that began on May 2, 2022. As we return to our yearly tradition of studying Pirkei Avot, and learn to walk the Path of Life with the Maharal as our guide. Between Passover and Shavuot, Jews all over the world devote themselves to the study of Ethics (Pirkei Avot). This custom follows the famous rabbinic teaching that before we can receive the Torah, we must learn Derekh Eretz - how to live together in harmony with all human beings. One of the greatest Jewish philosophers, the mighty Maharal of Prague (famous from the legend of The Golem!) called this course of study "The Path of Life."

Parsha study with Rabbi David Kasher from May 5, 2022

This podcast was produced while standing on our heads. The rest is commentary.

Reflections after a recent trip to Israel.

Uncovering the familial sexual prohibitions of Leviticus.

John Destler was born in Berlin on October 13, 1931. One of his earliest memories is watching from the balcony of his family’s apartment as Hitler and Mussoilini drove by in a motorcade. In the week of Yom HaShoah, we welcome John to our community to talk about his unique experiences, trauma, and challenges. Including a life long battle with addiction that he was able, at the age of 72, to face and heal. (From Samara Hutman's Intro) In partnership with Righteous Conversations Project.

Rabbi Kasher checks in from his Seder in Israel

Our Passover story was made possible by a quiet revolutionary spirit manifested through four female archetypes.

What's the connection between gossip and skin disease?

One of the silver linings of the pandemic is that we have all become better readers of Leviticus.

Parsha study with Rabbi David Kasher from March 31, 2022

Can a house get sick? The Torah seems to think so.

Reflections on mourning from Moed Katan and Parshat Shemini. In memory of Steven J. Kasher, Z"L.

You know the cycle. Front page headlines retreat to the back pages and eventually disappear from both the paper and our attention. Even the most horrifying headlines, those emerging from the brutal war in Ukraine, risk being ignored in the frenetic pace of our news cycle. We must not turn away. Even in the absence of a clear political path forward, we need to keep our hearts open to the stories, pleas, and suffering of the Ukrainian people, responding with empathy, advocacy, and resources.

This week, we receive the first major list of kosher laws. But whyare we supposed to keep kosher? There are some classic answers. But Rabbi Kasher's got a theory of his own.

In this drasha we explore how Esther and Moses overcame their resistance to action, when that action involved risk; Serah bat Asher and Ruth's capacities to draw strength and purpose from the past and imagine themselves as agents of a better future; and how all their stories shed light on our lives and world today, particularly in relation to our responsibility for the children in the LA County Foster Care system.

Parsha study with Rabbi David Kasher from March 10, 2022